Miles Amoore: A Taliban fighter tells how he avenged the death of Bin Laden

A Taliban fighter has given the first account of how his unit fired two rocket-propelled grenades that brought down a Chinook helicopter, killing 38 elite American and Afghan troops in the deadliest attack of NATO's 10 year campaign. The special forces, some from the unit that killed Osama Bin Laden, had flown into a remote valley to kill a group of Taliban commanders who were sheltering in the Sayedabad district of Wardak province, according to the fighter. The dead, identified last week by a special forensic team at Dover air force base in Delaware, included 17 Navy Seals, some from Team 6, the unit that killed Bin Laden, five other navy special forces, three air force special forces, and five crew. Seven Afghan commandos and an interpreter were also on board. The helicopter was shot down as it came in to land close to where two Taliban had taken up sentry positions in the Tangi Valley, the fighter, whose nom de guerre is Haqiar, said. His account largely tallies with NATO's version of events. Haqiar, 24, who claims to be the only surviving member of the team that shot down down the helicopter, said fighters were already on high alert because they had seen many US drones patrolling during the day. They observed Iftar, the Islamic custom of breaking the fast during the holy month of Ramadan, and as soon as they had finished their meal, Haqiar and his comrade, Gulam Hazrat, took up guard duties in a ditch beside a terraced field overlooking the valley. At about 11pm, a radio message from Haqiar's commander, Mullah Mohibullah, told them American forces had just killed six Taliban fighters further down the valley in the village of Qarya-e-Amir. "We knew something bid was going to happen," he said. An hour later, Haqiar and Hazrat heard a helicopter approaching and saw it silhouetted against the moon. The Chinook was coming in to land about 100 yards from their position, escorted by two attack helicopters. The pilot appeared to be heading for a site between two mosques in the valley below their position, Haqiar said. "The Americans knew that the mosques and the surrounding fields and gardens had lots of Taliban commanders sleeping there," said Haqiar. As the Chinook reached eye-level, he wanted to ask his commander for permission to fire, because he knew the shot would give away his position, but Hazrat launched the rocket-propelled grenade before Haqiar could reach his radio. "He fired and it landed inside the chopper and exploded. I fired one and hit the nose of the bird. The chopper lost balance and fell to the ground on its side and rolled. There was a huge explosion, and we could see into the back of the Chinook, and we saw the inside was on fire," said Haqiar. NATO later said the helicopter took fire from several insurgent positions as it made its approach. The flames spread throughout the helicopter and quickly ignited the ammunition on board, sending sparks shooting into the night sky. "We could hear the bullets exploding till the next day, as the flames lit up the valley. Suddenly night was transformed into daylight."